Long known for their bookish indie ballads stuffed with folk tales and time-worn legends, the Decemberists have taken their critically acclaimed formula to a new level with their latest release, The Hazards of Love. Telling of the story of two estranged lovers threatened by a jealous forest queen and a kidnapping rogue, the album finds the band expanding its musical horizons into heavier blues and rock while maintaining its characteristic mirth.
Though it’s easy to call it a concept record, The Hazards of Love is more of an hour-long opera. The instrumentation swings from plodding, rhythmic, dissonant blues to mellifluous, acoustic ambiance, providing a colorful backdrop for Meloy’s narrative dialogue. When the foreboding forest queen speaks, the band launches into a thunderous, bluesy riff that says more about the lady’s imposing power than Meloy’s inspired lyrics ever could; when the two lovers retire for a night in the forest together, a charming accordion and slide guitar-laced melody tell us just as much about their relationship as the words they sing in unison.
With a cinematic scope and complex narrative, The Hazards of Love is the band’s most ambitious record yet, featuring enough twists and turns to stay interesting long after the charm of its plot has worn off.
